Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The FBI today reported that hate attacks on Muslims in America are surging, as "a wave of racially charged assaults, graffiti attacks and other episodes" sweeps the country in the days since Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential elections.

Trump finally said something about the spike in racist attacks by whites on people of color during a "60 Minutes" interview broadcast on Sunday night.

A demonstrator holds a "Love Trumps Hate" placard during a candlelight vigil against President-elect Donald Trump's election, in Lafayette Park, near the White House, in Washington, U.S., November 12, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

In its report Monday, the F.B.I. cataloged a total of 5,818 hate crimes in 2015 — a rise of nearly 340 over the year before — including assaults, bombings, threats and property destruction against minorities, women, gays and others.

Attacks against Muslim Americans saw the biggest surge: 257 reports of assaults, attacks on mosques and other types hate crimes against Muslims last year, a jump of about 67 percent over the year before. It was the highest total since 2001, when the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks saw more than 480 attacks.

Attacks against transgender people also sharply increased, the data showed.

Law enforcement officials acknowledge that the statistics give an incomplete picture because many local agencies still have a spotty record of reporting hate crimes, 26 years after Congress directed the Justice Department to begin collecting the data.